Ignorance is Bliss
by Storyman227
Summary: Contrary to what some might say, ignorance is not bliss. From the day he was born, Naruto was kept from true human contact. Recognition and salvation are offered in the form of an ancient and chaotic evil, sealing the boys fate. AU, dark themes and world
1. Chapter 1

Ignorance is Bliss

**Prologue: A Hand in the Darkness**

The child swayed aimlessly across the streets, his face full of wide-eyed wonder and joy. Lights of every color filled his vision, taunting him and beckoning him closer. Utilizing all the willpower that his four-year old self had at its disposal, he tore his gaze away from the magnificent lights to the smiling faces surrounding him. Stands of all shapes and sizes adorned the streets, selling, buying, giving away, fulfilling any purpose that the young boy could think of. Approaching the closest one, he was immediately gifted with a candied apple and a pat on the head, followed by a bow and a blessing from the tiny old woman who managed the stand. His tiny legs continued on their journey, weaving their way through the crowd full of friendly faces and waving hands.

No matter where he went, the child was greeted with smiles and blessings. Grinning from ear to ear, he slowly made his way to where a grinning old man stood. Giggling, the child reached up and grabbed the man's hand, who in turn bent over and picked him up, resulting in another bout of laughter from the child. Words he didn't fully understand made their way in and out of the child's mind, but the child didn't need to understand them to know the meaning they carried. Looking at all the smiling faces, all the lights around him, and the special feeling that was welling up inside of his chest, he knew that it could only mean one thing, one thing that was more precious to him than anything else in the world. He, Uzumaki Naruto, was noticed and loved by everyone around him. That was when his world of make-believe came crashing down, and the solace of his dream shattered.

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Every day was the same. After being granted the fleeting sense of comfort that had been constantly denied to him throughout his short life, he would wake up, and the realization that his experiences were not reality would add another layer to the feelings of sadness and resentment that had been burned into his mind during his life.

When he was first brought to the orphanage, he was full of the same bubbly and infectious joy that all toddlers share. Everything was new to him, and he was as eager to experience it as his infantile mind was curious about it. All that ended when the dark and dreary walls of the orphanages basement became his home. He was never physically harmed; the Hokage's law regarding treatment of the child saw to that. Not even the most foolhardy or drunken of villagers would attempt to break that law. Not after the failed attempts that had warranted fatal and publicly viewed punishments.

Regarding treatment of the child that contained a demon, denial became the most apt description. After his arrival, Naruto was granted the most minimal of human recognition. The first day, children became curious at the arrival of the new child, some even walking up to him to greet him and ask questions. Shortly thereafter, the children who had been unlucky enough to attempt conversation were pulled aside by tall men and dragged through a doorway that lead to the headmistress' office. The next day, when Naruto walked up to the familiar faces that had spoken to him the previous day, he saw that black spots and swelling adorned their faces, and he was summarily ignored by anyone he attempted to speak to. After that, the closest thing Naruto had to human companionship was when whoever was in charge of lunch slopped down a ladle-full of food onto his tray. When the other children were called upon by supervisors to attend daily lessons, no one came for Naruto. No one acknowledged his existence, cared about his whereabouts, or offered him any type of companionship.

At first he thought it was due to his behavior. Perhaps he had done something wrong, something bad to offend the people who were in charge of where he lived. For months he tried being the best boy that he could be, doing whatever the rest of the children did, hoping that whoever was in charge would realize what a nice boy he was and begin speaking to him. When this didn't work, he even tried being a not so nice boy, but all this resulted in was his door out of the basement being locked when he attempted to leave the morning after his misbehavior. From that day on, he wasn't even allowed to see the faces of those who refused to look at him. The only time the door was opened was to put in some form of food, and his only company became the sound of dripping water.

Occasionally, when the frustration of solitude became too much for the child, tears would fall from his eyes, mixing in with the water that dripped from the ceiling of his room. Other times, anger would fill him, and he would lash out at the only thing that he could. His small fists would crash against the cracked walls, sending electric jolts through his arms after he had used them enough. Today was a mix of the two.

After he had spent all of the energy his small form could muster, and blood began to smear against the walls as he finished slamming his bruised and bloodied fists against them, he collapsed to the ground and curled into himself. Tears fell freely from his eyes as he held onto himself as tightly as he could, trying to answer the questions his mind posed. Why was this happening to him? What had he done that other children had not to warrant such treatment? Why was he alone? Even as his mind began to fill with certainty that he would never find an answer to these questions, a gnawing feeling began to creep into the back of his head. Warmth began to flow over the hands that were clutching his knees close to his chest, and he slowly lifted one up, only to see a red and black mist caressing his skin. His anguish momentarily forgotten, he moved his hands slowly in a wide arc in front of him, the mist dancing and twirling around his arms in a mesmerizing dance that made him feel safe.

Unable to speak for fear that he would disturb the mist, Naruto could only think.

'What are you?' he thought to himself.

And slowly, a deep voice that spoke in a language Naruto had never heard began to whisper in his mind. Not fully understanding why, Naruto replied with his name. The voice rumbled back, filling Naruto with a sense of safety that he had never before experienced. The mist moved from his arms to fully encircle his body, warming him and comforting him. With a final rumble from the voice that Naruto could somehow understand, he began to drift to sleep. Even though the voice spoke in a way that seemed ancient and unheard of to the young Naruto, he could feel in his bones what it had said to him. It had said it was a friend.


	2. First Blood

Ignorance is Bliss

**Chapter One: First Blood**

The voice had been his salvation. In the months since The Voice had first spoken to him, the child's life had been irrevocably changed. Human companionship had still been denied to him, but it didn't matter, not as long as the voice continued to speak to him. The first night that it had spoken to him, Naruto had thought that he had been dreaming. When he had awoken the next day only to see the red mist still surrounding him, he had given a shriek of joy and spent the rest of the day playing with it, all thoughts of pain and anger forgotten. Even when the daily meal was slid through the door to his room, all thoughts remained focused on interacting with this thing that had befriended him.

At first he had merely spent his time interacting with the red mist that seemed to enshroud his body, watching it spin and whirl around him as he moved his fingers, as if it was reacting to his thoughts. He continued on like this for some time, until The Voice from the night before slithered its way into his thoughts again. The deep rumblings seemed to resonate through his bones, and for some reason Naruto couldn't fathom, he understood when The Voice spoke. After Naruto realized that there was something that was willingly speaking to him, he spoke for hours about his life, or lack thereof. He described his hatred of the ones who locked him in this room, and his hatred for the other children for possessing what he didn't have. He told The Voice that he wanted to be big, that he wanted to power to make the other children feel what he feel, to make the adults sorry for the pain they had caused him.

As he continued his tale and his anger grew, the years of total neglect compounding in his mind, he felt a rightness in his heart, as if the feelings he were experiencing were natural, as if they were a part of him that had been missing his entire life. As Naruto raved, the voice cooed to him, stoking the fires within his mind and telling him that he had every right to feel the way he did, that the people around him deserved punishment.

Even as elongated nails punctured his palms as a result of his clenched fists, the red mist seeped into the wounds, soothing the pain and mending the flesh. All throughout the night, from the moment the child's anger subsided to the moment he succumbed to sleep, the voice spoke to him. It told him that one day, he would have his revenge.

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Shuji Hayagawa was a promising Chuunin before the attack on his village. He had slowly risen throughout the ranks, transforming from an average academy-level student to a skilled Genin who had accomplished numerous B and C ranked missions. He came from a small family from Konoha's poorer districts, going against his father's expectations for him to continue operating their family's bakery to try his hand at becoming Shinobi.

It took him and his teammates several tries before they had successfully completed the Chuunin exams, but they felt like they were on top of the world. Soon enough they would advance to the rank of Jounin, growing in strength until they were unstoppable. That worldview shattered along with the forests of Konoha when the Kyuubi came. They had been called to the frontlines of the battle, supposedly to try and slay the beast, but everyone knew the truth of the matter; they were fodder, meant to distract the Kyuubi until their legendary Hokage could arrive.

Within moments of the initial barrage of weaponry and Jutsu, both of Shuji's teammates had been eviscerated by one of the monster's tails, as well as half of the frontline forces. All too late Shuji had realized the difference between the power he had achieved and the other forces that existed in this world. His triumph in the Chuunin exams were erased from his mind as his kunai fell from his grip, heart consumed with terror as he gazed upon the swirling tails so far above him. He felt a wetness running down his thigh as he turned and fled, all thoughts of battle and his village swept from his mind. There was only the forest ahead of him and the beast behind him. He ran past exhaustion, but the searing eyes that had looked upon him like he would look upon an ant refused to leave his mind.

When a massive spike of chakra managed to wrestle control of his mind away from the vast terror engulfing him, he turned to see the beast howling in rage as black energy crackled across its form. Seeing the beast collapse, Shuji turned around and began to run back towards the beast, all of his mind and body screaming at him to run as far away as possible. Shuji stopped in his tracks as he saw the beast lying on the ground, head smashing back and forth in a vain attempt to escape the creature that hovered above it. The creature's hand slithered into the beast's hide, before gripping and slowly withdrawing something within. The howl's slowly ceased as the beast seemed to decay, tails falling to the ground and fur turning grey before the beast finally burst, showering the clearing the battle had taken place in with ash.

Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion as Shuji shoved his way past anyone he came into contact with; he had to see proof that this thing, this beast that had incinerated his comrades and friends, was gone. As he reached the center of the clearing though, the only sight he was greeted with was the still body of his beloved leader, and a crying infant covered in red chakra. The infant's eyes opened wide as he screamed, and for an instant, Shuji saw something. He saw the searing eyes, the malice, and the corruption of the beast. In this infant's eyes, Shuji Hayagawa saw Hell.

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Four years and Shuji still suffered from insomnia. Whenever he attempted to close his eyes and rest, he was greeted with the eyes of the beast and the eyes of the child, burning them into his mind and refusing to leave. Whenever he managed to block them out and fall into a restless sleep, he was inevitably visited with an image of Konoha wreathed in flame, a demonic child standing in the centre of his burning village, eyes slit and mouth upturned in a smile.

He had tried therapy, he had tried pills, he had tried throwing himself into his training, but none of it worked. The only times he could find some respite from the images of hell incarnate was when he drank. At the end of every day of guard duty (The Kyuubi attack had left him too mentally fragile to attempt any service above D-ranks and guard duty) he would purchase as much alcohol he could afford and return to his home, seeking to deaden his emotions and consciousness enough that he would no longer feel the sting of the eyes in his mind.

Some nights he would think of how he failed his village, others he would think of how his parents refused to look at him after discovering that he had left the rest of his comrades to die. Some nights though, he would think of salvation. He would think of how the Kyuubi had managed to fool their Hokage, and how the eyes he saw that night four years ago could not belong to a human or mortal. He would think of ways to slay the beast for good, of how to put to rest the torment he had undergone these past four years. It was only when he overheard two workers at the orphanage discussing a 'demon' brat that he knew his time had come.

Shuji may have lost his comrades and his family, but he hadn't lost his entire mind. He knew that to kill the boy would be considered treason, and that he would suffer the ultimate price for it. But he also knew that it would finally kill the demon that had plagued him all of these years, and that it would save Konoha from the fiery destruction that awaited it at the hands of the child. He had to make sure he wasn't caught. With these facts and realization in mind, Shuji gripped his kunai tightly as he gently pushed open the doors of the orphanage.

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Naruto was sitting happily as the red mist danced around his arm when he heard the shout. Slowly he turned his head, the mist flowing in a more agitated and tight pattern around him as the shouting grew closer and more intense. Naruto cried out as the door to his room was slammed open and a bloodied body was tossed inside, kunai planted to the hilt in the man's chest. Before he could register what was going on, a bag was tossed over his head and he was being hauled into the air. Panic sprung up in his chest as he heard sounds fly by him, an alarm ringing and hurried footfalls.

The Voice was there though, soothing him and telling him he would be alright, that nothing would harm him.

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Shuji cursed as he scaled the walls of his village, all thoughts of secrecy having evaporated from his mind since others had been alerted to his intentions. All had been going well until one of the orphanage's supervisors had wandered into the hallway for a late-night bathroom trip. Upon seeing a man dressed in dark with a knife clutched in his hands, the man had screamed, awakening most of the orphanage in the process. Instantly Shuji was upon him, knife at his throat and questions about the location of the demon boy bombarding him. As soon as the room's location had been discovered, the man foolishly attempted to escape, resulting in Shuji's blade sinking deep into his chest, piercing his heart in the process.

On his way out of the orphanage with the boy, he had run into several children who refused to stop screaming and in his panic Shuji silenced them as well. Now, he was running through the forest, desperately trying to put ground between him and what was bound to be an ANBU squad sent after him. Only when he took a moment to regard the thing slung over his shoulder did he feel the bite of steel in his leg. Shuji shouted in shock and pain as he tumbled to the ground, the sack falling from his shoulders, spilling its occupant out onto the ground.

As Shuji regained his bearings he looked at the sack lying next to him, for the first time noticing the frayed hole tinged with blood that had been cut into the side of it. Shuji whipped his head around, searching for the demon that had escaped his grasp. That was when he saw the eyes and knew that hell was upon him.

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Momochi Zabuza had been alert ever since he had entered Fire Country. While he knew that Kirigakure was not on the best of terms with Konoha, the prize of his bounty would be more than enough to temporarily bridge the divide. He had been making his way through Konoha territory in order to reach the abode of a man who he had heard was an avid user of mercenary's, but even so he had trouble convincing himself that the risk was worth the reward. As he neared the borders of where Konoha patrol routes ended, he felt it.

A spike of chakra that would put most Jounin to shame split the air around him, and instantly Zabuza's sword was out and he was cautiously moving towards the location it originated from. As Zabuza quietly entered the clearing, he was greeted with a sight that he would never forget; a child, no older than four years old, wreathed in flame, standing over the disemboweled corpse of a Konoha shinobi. As the child quickly looked towards Zabuza's direction and bared its enlarged canines, Zabuza had only one thought: This will be my tool.

_AN:_ I really dislike it when author's post stupid or nonsensical author's notes, so I'll try to keep these short, sweet, and relating to my thoughts on the chapter. I am very busy this time of the year as it's rugby season at my school and I have practice every night, meaning that updates will most likely be sporadic. This story will most likely have little romance, and the romance that it does have will be a tool used to further the plot, not be the plot itself. This story will more than likely feature a female Haku as one of the main characters.

For any who are interested, I usually write a chapter when a specific piece of music I'm listening to inspires me or gives me ideas. The music that spurred me on to write the prologue was **Surface of the Sun** by John Murphy, and the song that I pretty much listened to nonstop while writing this chapter was **Stay Wide Awake** by Eminem. Again, I doubt that anyone cares, but if you want to get a feel for the tone and emotion that each chapter was meant to exhibit, give these songs a listen.


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